Pushing Boundaries

Restarting with a 17 day trip to Brazil! Itinerary is roughly:  Sao Paulo, Florianopolis, Cambara do Sol, Rio de Janeiro, Buzios, and Arraial do Cabo. (I know I missed some accent marks there, but hopefully my Brazilian friends will forgive me.) I’m particularly stoked for the trip as it’s a long one and has quite a variety...  urban, sprawling city to beach town to canyon/hiking to Carnival to more beautiful beaches.

Oman is lesser known jewel for travelers. When I recounted my trip to others, many would ask “Why Oman?”. I must admit before going, I hadn’t thought of it and only thanks to suggestions from two friends, had I considered going. One of my least planned itineraries (and if you know me, I plan EVERYTHING), we got lucky with our Oman destinations, including a bit of a secret.

Wadi Shab is a commonly mentioned place in tourists books and blogs, but I must admit I read little about it and saw practically no pictures of what was about to come. Boy was I in for a treat.

Wadi is a word in Arabic for ravine or valley. Picture an ancient canyon cut by thousands of years of water and wind erosion.

To start, after parking under the highway overpass, we paid a relatively overpriced fare on a 3 minute boat ride across the river to start the hike. (I met the owner of the operation -- I can tell he rakes in easy money from tourists. The rest of the site is free -- while it might be a government owned park, they don’t charge.)

There were a few other people with us, and we walked together most of the way, following the dirt and rock laden path until it got more strenuous up the canyon. We followed the blue-green river, and eventually encountered large boulders to climb. It was hot and not for the faint heart.

But the reward was amazing. Upon reaching the end, we were in an oasis. Mainly Europeans, there were sunbathers and swimmers abound in a series of natural pools colored in beautiful green-blues.

Not really prepared attire-wise to swim, but not going to bypass this once in a lifetime opportunity, we made do and went for a swim/trek along the river/pools. We coincidentally started with a Welsh gentleman and befriended him upon our leisurely wade. Fortunately for us, as we did not carry our cell phones, he was donning a water proof camera on his belt, and we got some pictures along the way, albeit poor quality.

Once we got to the end, he mentioned about a cave that existed, and a friendly Canadian lady mentioned it was through there, pointing to a crack at the end of the largest and deepest pool we had came to. Slightly nervous, amazed, and excited, we swam over and through this claustrophobic gap. She mentioned that she had been here before when the water level was so high, you would have to swim under water to get your head through!

The 75 foot crevice led to an absolutely amazing cavern with a waterfall. Centuries of erosion led to some gaping holes in the ceiling such that there was enough light to see. There were natural curves to the walls, enough to provide a ledge for a decently comfortable seat. The pool was deep -- a few Canadian teens were jumping 20+ feet from an upper ledge and did not find the bottom.

I was totally in awe -- had not expected such an amazing oasis in this arid mountain range. We swam around until getting slightly tired from treading water and needing to move on to Sure before finding our desert camp that night.

This is the second post in a series regarding my trip to the Arabian Peninsula.

Day 4 (Wednesday) Happy Birthday to me! We were up early, bound for the airport for an 8am flight to Muscat, the capital of Oman. The morning was basically eaten up by travel, as it took forever to clear immigration. We immediately checked in to our hotel, not in the old town but walkable to some stuff, and fortunately close to where we would rent our car. We walked to the Grand Mosque, which was relatively empty except a few cruise ship tourists. The grounds were nice, and we ended up sharing a taxi to Mutrah (Muscat is basically 3 cities -- this was the second one), and fortunately they knew what to negotiate for the fare. We explored the small Mutrah Souq, continuing along the coastal windy road, seeing the Corniche, parks, and lighthouse. Finally, we made it to the Old City where we explored the town and its forts. The highlight, though, was the Sultan’s Palace, a unique and colorful edifice. After another day of much walking, we were exhausted and ready for an energetic and healthy fruit smoothie. We were able to find a bus to get us half way back, ate dinner at an Omani style restaurant, and caught another bus back to our hotel. After some late night arrangements, we were set for the next 3 days of our trip.

Day 5 (Thursday) After picking up our 4 wheel drive SUV, we were on the road, first traversing some mountains and then picking up along the coast, all the while perusing the local FM stations. Our first stop would be the Bimma Sinkhole -- a massive naturally created hole in the earth -- and right on the coast. It was about 100 feet deep and a couple hundred feet in diameter. Fortunately, the government built stairs to go down to bottom, which was about half covered in beautiful blue-green water. You could tell people had swam before, but I was cautious and thought it not worth the risk to get an infection of any sort. After a brief stop for some initial photos of the coast, we were back on the road. Along the way, there was a village we thought were driving through, and caught the attention of some playing school children. I was quite shocked at how little this village had, how barren it seemed, yet there would be one or two nice houses. Our next destination deserves a post for itself -- read here for a magical post.

The late afternoon had another drive by stop in the town of Sur, which hosted a camel racing track, but nothing going on at the time. We filled up on gas before heading straight inland toward the desert...  As the sun was setting, we were struggling to find our destination:  a desert camp. After a stressful 30 minutes and no traction with asking locals, we were able to borrow a cell phone and call the host -- we were over an hour late to our estimated arrival. They recognized where we were and came bumbling down a dirt road in a white Toyota truck. We were about to really put to test the 4 wheel drive... As dusk settled in, I was struggling to keep up with our host as we left the town and careened through tracks in the sand. Leaving distance was actually a good thing to let the sand/dust settle for vision. At last we arrived, completely surrounded by light red-orange sand and cool yet warm temperatures abound. A brief check in, and our hosts told us we could explore/joy ride until dinner. Utilizing the last of any light available, we were off. I “off roaded” up a hill side until I felt unsafe, and then Alex and I had a race to the top. Or so we thought. It never really ended. Our shoes filled with sand and out of breath, we stood there smiling, speechless, taking in the moment. We essentially skidded back down the car and made our way back to the tent in which would be sleeping in for the night. It was neat, and nice yet not luxurious. As it turns out, we would be the only guests in the entire compound. There were probably a dozen or so tents like this, all spread out with lots of space. There were latrines (more like bathrooms with basic plumbing), a fire pit, and a common building for food and social events.

This is the first segment of a series regarding my trip to the Arabian Peninsula in March 11-19, 2017.

After the three legged journey across the Atlantic and Europe, I arrived late Saturday night in Dubai. (Before we go further, I must go on a funny tangent that shows me how small the world gets as you travel more (but at times, it gets bigger when I learn how much is out there...I digress..). On the Atlanta - Manchester leg, I sat directly behind a German-American friend’s wife and newborn from my time in Kiel, Germany! They have since moved to Leeds, UK, and she was on her way back after visiting his parents. Crazy). DBX is a big airport, and my first goal was getting in contact with my friend. Fortunately, UAE is tech friendly, and free WiFi wasn’t a problem. After clearing immigration, I withdrew enough cash for the taxi ride down to Marina, where his apartment was. At this point, local time was 1:30am, so it was too late for a long catch up with my friend.

I arose early on Day 1 (Sunday), jet lagged of course, and not wanting to waste time, so I walked straight westward into the heart of Marina and to the coast. I zagged around admiring the many new and tall high rises...reminiscing of China. I continued to walk North and eventually took a metro all the way up to near the Old City. I quick visit to the grocery store would provide cheap lunch, and I swung by the American consulate, a Justin tradition in new countries/cities. A walk around old Al Fahidi and the Fort (with a nice museum tour) provided a break from the modern “sculptures” typically defining Dubai’s skyline today. Next, I took one of the cheap ferry boats (you have to see a picture in my album) that crisscross the river, and explored the Gold Soukh and that part of town, before crossing the river again and walking Eastward. Another Justin tradition, at least that started in primarily-Buddhist-China, and now in primarily-Muslim-UAE, is visiting Catholic churches. I enjoyed St. Mary’s, a familiar comfort in a foreign land for me,  and continued my long walk through Zabeel park, where the gigantic “picture frame” between old and new Dubai was finishing up construction. I finally made it to the “strip” (in my mind), the main Sheikh Zayed road, starting at the Dubai World Trade Center and walking southward. The views of high rises were beautiful, as building designs were copied from familiar looks across the world. I hopped on a metro at Financial Center and went down to the Mall of Emirates, which among much else, hosts an indoor ski slope. I finally met up with my friend, and we dined at one of his local favorites, a mix between Arab and Indian food. We talked toward the private beaches by Burj Al Arab (the building that looks like a sail), before taking a taxi home. A late swim in the warm weather was a perfect night cap.

Day 2 (Monday) was another heavy walking day, another Justin tradition when traveling. I took the metro to Dubai WTC, and walked westward to Jumeirah Mosque, but unfortunately missed the time frame for a tour. I enjoyed the grounds and beautiful mosque, before walking southward. I did a short stop at the depressing Dubai Zoo before dipping my feet in the gulf waters at Jumeirah Beach, witnessing another artificial island being constructed on the coast. I stopped in the well decorated Mercato Shopping Mall for WiFi and healthy lunch (from a grocery store). An unexpected pass at City Walk was another interesting witness to the money invested at malls and seemingly superficial stuff by Emirates. After navigating construction and long walkways in the increasingly hot temps, I made it to the campus of Burj Khalifa, where I had a timed ticket to visit the world’s tallest structure. After what seemed like a couple miles of covered, AC’d walkways, I was in The Dubai Mall. In lieu of a ski slope, this one had a hockey rink, among much else. I walked the grounds, taking pictures of the superficial yet photogenic architecture. At last, it was near time for my late afternoon appointment to ride the elevator up the Burj Khalifa! Of course, they’ve made the whole thing an entire experience, and I tried to soak it up, as the ticket was expensive. I stayed a couple hours, enjoying a muted sunset on the two viewing floors available to me. (I elected not to have the highest floor, as I heard the view was marginally better for much more cost.) After a few laps around, and numerous pictures, I was on my way down to visit a special James Bond exhibit! The 007 Geek I am, I could not pass it up, and I might have been the only one there during my entire 45 minute visit. After a few night photos of the Burj Khalifa from the ground, I was on my way back home.

To entrepreneurs, job candidates, or even single guy trying the dating game, there are many ways to make a pitch. There’s probably even many more opinions and articles on what makes a good pitch. Regardless, the situation matters, of course, as to what your ideal pitch should be. There are a number of factors including audience, purpose, time, alone vs. with team, etc.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of judging the Georgia Tech Capstone Design Expo. It is a multi-disciplinary fair of mostly seniors having worked on a variety of projects for two semesters. I talked to 6 teams, and while it was primarily a way to give back to my alma mater, it was also a time for me to think critically and quickly about a given subject that I may or may not be familiar with at all. More than a mental exercise, it also had me pondering about what it’s a good pitch.

Again, it depends is the true answer, but here are my conclusions for a Capstone design pitch:

1. Explained the background (bonus for talking about user/sponsor)

2. Specifically stated the problem

3. Told a story. How did you get to solution?

4. Included metrics

5. Could talk about testing the idea(s). (Bonus for creativity, consideration of as many points as possible)

6. Related back to user needs at end and how you did (or did not) address them